Bristol County correctional officer recognized for intervention in home invasion

Wednesday

Sep 9, 2009 at 12:01 AM

A correctional officer with the Bristol County Sheriff's Department has been recognized for his actions in stopping an attempted armed home invasion in New Bedford last year.

A correctional officer with the Bristol County Sheriff's Department has been recognized for his actions in stopping an attempted armed home invasion in New Bedford last year.

Kevin Coelho was recently awarded the 2009 National Medal of Honor from American Correctional Officer, a national organization that promotes the well being and safety of corrections professionals.

Coelho was selected over nominees from across the country as this year's top correctional officer, according to a press release from American Correctional Officer.

On Sept. 23, 2008, Coelho was driving on Belleville Avenue when he was stopped by a woman who told him a man had just broken into her home and tried to shoot her boyfriend.

Coelho exited his truck and stepped between two men while they were struggling with a gun in the doorway at 878 Belleville Ave.

Coelho disarmed the suspect, Stephen Makin of New Bedford, and grabbed the loaded weapon. Coelho then dragged the suspect outside the house and hip-tossed him to the ground, where he held him down with a knee to the back until police arrived.

"(Correctional Officer) Coelho clearly went above and beyond the call of duty by disregarding the potential danger to himself to save the life of another human being," Vito Dagnello, president of American Correctional Officer, said in a prepared statement.

Coelho and other recipients will receive their awards during a Sept. 18 banquet in Boston.